New Premiere of the National Theatre Ballet: Moonshine

One of the highlights of the ballet autumn is undoubtedly the premiere of the evening titled Moonshine, which will take place on 16 November at the New Stage. It is a triptych from the workshop of the British choreographer and stage director Christopher Bruce. Just like his illustrious contemporaries Jiří Kylián and Mats Ek, whose works have already appeared in our repertoire, Christopher Bruce too is a living legend of that golden generation. Although the creative vocabulary of the three artists differs immensely, there is something difficult to define yet at the same time pure and clear that they have in common: the inspired sense of dynamics and musicality, a theatricality which without the slightest pathos always bears a profound personal statement and, last but not least, a distinctive and elegant humour.
Christopher Bruce has created dozens of ballets for numerous world-renowned companies, yet his name is above all synonymous with the famous London-based Ballet Rambert, which in the past, as its long-standing artistic director, he imbued with a singular character and face.
Yet the personality of a single creator is not the only connecting link of the evening. The main leitmotif is, it may be said, the retro pop-folk-rock music scene. The music for all three ballets that make up this programme was recorded in the latter part of the twentieth century. However, a basis of folk music going back centuries is present in many of the tracks and represents a theme which links all three works. In The Waterboys album Universal Hall, a fusion of Celtic folk music and Rock is clearly evident and, of course, Bob Dylan’s Bootleg album is nearly all pure folk music. When we get to the Rolling Stones, their style was hugely influenced by American blues and this powerful and emotive sound is present in many of their recordings.
The performance opens to music by the Scottish/Irish band The Waterboys in an opus titled Dance at the Crossroads. The piece was inspired by the tale of an unnamed woman and her life story, which comes back to her in flashbacks and touches chords that have long been silent.
The second part, Moonshine, is given over to Bob Dylan. Four eternal rovers-artists-jugglers-comedians… dancers. A group of people belonging together, with a mosaic of mutual relationships, personal emotions and utterances.
The final part of the evening, Rooster, has been created to music by the legendary Rolling Stones. An energy bomb with the whiff of greased-back hair pervading, about foppishness and flaunting, flirting and seducing, and everything else pertaining to what goes on between boys and girls. “Oh yes, there is at least a little of myself in the characters I have created,” Christopher says, recalling his youth. Source: NT Ballet Photo: Diana Zehetner